The US Department of Commerce just wrote a half-billion-dollar check to a company most people have never heard of. SandboxAQ, an AI and advanced computing startup that spun out of Alphabet in 2022, landed a $500 million grant to develop new materials for semiconductor manufacturing.
The award, announced on June 17, falls under the CHIPS Act, the sprawling federal initiative designed to bring chipmaking back to American soil. But instead of funding another fabrication plant, this particular chunk of money is aimed at something arguably more fundamental: figuring out what chips should be made with in the first place.
What SandboxAQ is actually building
The company’s mandate under this grant covers three distinct problem areas, each tied to a critical vulnerability in the current semiconductor supply chain.
First, finding alternatives to PFAS chemicals. These are the so-called “forever chemicals” widely used in chip manufacturing that pose serious environmental and health risks. The industry knows it needs to move away from them, but viable replacements remain elusive.
